The Night of the Iguana

In 1964 the American director, John Huston, made a film called The Night of the Iguana staring Richard Burton and Ava Gardner, based on the play by Tennessee Williams. He constructed the set, consisting of a small hotel and some beach huts, completely from scratch on the coast just south of Puerto Vallarta, at a place called Mismaloya.

On Boxing Day, we took the bus along the coast road (an experience in itself and great value at just 8 pesos, 40p per person), to the same small beach, which now has a large all-inclusive resort hotel at one end, but still has a certain rough charm with beach cafés at the other. We wandered off along a decrepit concrete path to find the ruins of the set, now surrounded by barbed wire and warning signs. Apparently this had been a major tourist attraction when Alexis was last here and the film itself is thought to have contributed to the significant growth in the visitor numbers to Puerto Vallarta in the 60s and 70s. But since the film is now 50 years old, it's hardly surprising that they couldn't sustain the demand to keep the place open. We got the barest glimpse of what must have once been a rather stylish attraction.

So, we did the next best thing. We came back to the apartment after our excursion on Friday and sat and watched the film on DVD. It's a slightly gritty romance in black & white, definitely of its time, but a great way to end a busy day.